Positioning in wireless communication systems can be performed in many different ways. A typical approach is that a request for positioning is provided. If the positioning information is not already available, some kind of measurement is performed, and positioning data is reported to a node responsible for the actual positioning.
There are a number of different reporting procedures for positioning data in wireless communication systems today. Most of them follow well standardized data format and signalling routines. For example, standard formats are available for reporting of the terminal position over RANAP (Radio Access Network Application Part) and PCAP (Position Calculation Application Part) in 3GPP systems. Reporting formats for a point or an area of different types are available.
However, the procedures for obtaining accurate positioning are developing very fast and several new approaches are proposed. Some of these approaches result in positioning data that does not comply with the available standards of today. Updating of different standards is a time-consuming and complex task and the request for using the new positioning methods as soon as possible rushes the implementation of the improvements. A general problem is thus that in order to allow for implementation of different improved positioning methods, reporting of positioning data has to be performed according to new manufacturer-specific non-standard protocols, which in turn limits the use to systems where all parts are provided by the same manufacturer.